Ever since the tragic events of Sep. 11, 2001 linked to commercial airplane crashes, security has represented a basic problem for aeronautics. In order to respond to this, the manufacturers and the airline companies developed and integrated functions intended to improve security on board aircraft.
Thus, by way of illustration, reinforced cockpit doors and internal video monitoring systems were developed. Likewise, the on-board systems from now on are protected against malicious intents.
Furthermore, the airline companies have the regulatory requirement to implement technical and organizational means for maintaining the security level of the components of an aircraft such as established at delivery thereof. This regulatory obligation covers only physical security and not logical security.
Nevertheless, as a result of this regulatory requirement, certain airline companies are asking the aircraft manufacturers to allow the integration of security functions into the operational processes of the airline companies. Moreover, certain airline companies are asking the aircraft manufacturers for the operational functions and the associated security functions to be compatible with commercial hardware and software not specific to aeronautics.
In general, the systems for automated processing of data, also called STADs (acronym for Système de Traitement Automatisé de Données [System for Automated Processing of Data]), may be used, in an aeronautical environment, to accommodate operational and/or communication software applications, that is to say as toolboxes, to enable the operational personnel, for example the pilot and his second in command, the technicians and the maintenance crews, to carry out some of the tasks of their mission. These toolboxes also may be available for other usages. In particular, an airline company may decide to install its own technical or office automation applications therein. The toolboxes are not security functions, that is to say their role is not to ensure security, but to make it possible to perform operational tasks.
The data handled by the operational software applications implemented in the STADs may be downloaded, calculated, displayed and/or transmitted. Because of the security constraints cited above, there are high security requirements in terms of confidentiality, integrity and/or availability of same.
Nevertheless, it is difficult to have sensitive functions and data coexist with functionalities able to communicate with the outside and which depend on commercial software and hardware when a security objective must be respected.